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-   -   Kochi Airport starts removing a few solar panels above the south canal, after people protest (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/212119-kochi-airport-starts-removing-few-solar-panels-above-south-canal-after-people-protest.html)

This is interesting.

These solar panels were "award winning" ! And now part of it is getting removed.

With such a major investment, there should have definitely been some rationale behind peoples concerns. I find it difficult to believe the district administration would agree to the people's request for immediate action unless there was proof that these panels were also partly responsible for the flooding in the area. Action has been taken in less than a week after this years floods affected surrounding areas.

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nati...ing-flood.html

I do hope they know what they're doing. Because this move will obviously prove very costly for CIAL. And to think how 'revolutionary' they were when they were first introduced.

Here is another instance where the locals decided to take matters into their own hands. Well, can you blame them? Horrible floods, year after year.

http://youtu.be/XjWivNoHKg0

Please understand not all the solar panels are being removed. There were some floating solar panels that were placed in the canal, only these are being removed. People living there believed that these floating panels hampered the flow of water in the canal and increased the intensity of the floods in the area.
These panels generated around 4MW of the total 60MW project, they have been removed and will be placed elsewhere within the airport.
CIAL continues to run all its operations on Solar Power

@mods
I do not think this deserves a thread of its own

With all due respect Aditya....

Issues relating to an airport which closes down two consecutive years does deserve to be discussed.

This year there wew no dams overflowing which caused floods in the Periyar river bank. The closure at Kochi airport was due to water not draining out properly . And this removal of solar panels is apparently a result of that as it not only affected the airport but also the surrounding areas.

Even if 4 MW of the total 60 MW was the amount affected, the fact it is it is a huge waste of resources.

Incidentally both the MP and MLA are from the opposition. That is why I feel there is more to this!

When in doubt, always refer to The Hindu for the full story.

Cochin International Airport Limited has said it would dismantle some of the solar panels over the Chengalthodu diversion canal as a flood prevention measure.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.the...34186.ece/amp/

It seems it is just some solar panels installed on top of the canal.
Also, not sure if MP and MLA being from opposition would have any role to play in this. In fact it is them who build this airport at the first place. If at all somebody would push for some regressive steps, it would be another group known for their strikes against computer, tractor etc.lol:

This has nothing do with politics. The Airport is a PPP and the Kerala govt is the major single shareholder, but still the govt's role is limited.

The flooding was not just isolated to the airport, it has other reasons too. The Airport is located on the banks of a major river and has canals that bring in water from the river, running through and around the airport. The solution lies in ensuring a proper drainage of water from the airport.

Regarding the flooding last year, even if the airport wasnt flooded, it wouldn't be able to operate the flights as all the roads in the district were flooded and there was no way people could have reached the Airport.

I am sure the CIAL management will find an efficient way around this, besides we need not bother the costs of this as the tax payer doesn't have to bear the burden. And from November this year, the airport will shut down for 6 hours daily for 4 months for Maintenance of its runway and apron, mostly, they will improve the drainage too.

Yes, the airport, is India's 3rd busiest in terms of international passengers and the 8th busiest overall, and even if it closes down for an hour, it will have major impact on everyone.

But isn't this similar to Bangalore or Delhi airports closing down during the winter mornings due to fog, even airports in Orissa and Kolkata were closed due to the cyclone.

Unlike other airports in Kerala, Kochi is blessed with a second airport, INS Garuda at Willington Island, can handle ATRs.

The airport was just closed for a few days this time unlike last time when it was closed for weeks. So the impact is not really that much.

Apparently, the airport itself was constructed without adhering to all the environmental norms. So i am not surprised that there are concerns about the solar panels. There was a famed Madhav Gadgil report which warned of the consequences of construction and filling up land in the low lying flood plains on the bank of periyar. The govt and the opposition of the day along with the private lobby which was supporting the airport discredited the report and went ahead with the construction.

This is no way unique to the airport or even kochi. It's been widely reported in the media that a lot of the flooding damage and loss of life across different cities in kerala was man made and could be attributed to greed of the involved parties. I am just hoping that this turns to be a wake up call for the regulators and the government.

The airport was closed for 15 days last year The road links were however restored within a week from the Ernakulam side towards the airport.

This year. at least for CIAL, real efforts should be made to find out why the airport shut down for nearly 72 hours when there was hardly much impact in the surrounding areas or Aluva town which was literally devastated last year. The flooding this year was mostly in the northern districts.


Instead of spending more money on Golf Courses or Marriage Halls (convention centers ..if you wish) , it is time the airport starts addressing real issues it faces like drainage ,water logging etc

Will CIAL be bold enough to put in public domain the Environmental Impact Study which was conducted when the current siite was selected for the airport? That should make some interesting reading.


As for the runaway maintenance coming up, that I understand is a DGCA mandated one to be done every ten years and not a CIAL initiative. The same was done in Mumbai, Ahmedabad among others the last couple of years.

Arent there too many issues being mixed up in this one discussion ?

The airport was commissioned in late 90s, I guess in 1999, construction started about 5 years before that if my memory serves me right. Much of the Airport stands on filled up wetland.
Gadgil report was I guess tabled in 2011.
The Wetland and paddy land act which created the law prohibiting construction on these types of lands came in late 2000s.
The issues with the Kochi airport is an effect of what was done about 25 years ago, when nobody really cared about the environment. Never too late to make amends.

How to make amends?

Break down the boundary wall everytime ...to drain the water ?

Decide that the damage cannot be undone and now itself plan for another airport...twenty years down the line ?

The economic impact of such airport closures is huge.

It is laughable that with much higher flooding in Malappuram and Kozhikode districts, Kozhikode airport remained largely unaffected except for a few visibility related diversions, while Kochi had to shut down for nearly three days.

I don't see that happening. lol:

Once the flood situation stabilises, both locals & politicians will forget about this until the next floods occur.
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With respect to elevation above mean sea level, Calicut airport is at an elevation of ~340ft whereas Nedumbassery airport is at only 30ft. (Wiki)

Probably because Kozhikode airport is located quite high up whereas Kochi is right in the middle of water bodies?

I was quite impressed with the way they managed to clear the airport on Sunday afternoon. I was refreshing the CIAL app to check the status of SilkAir flights to Singapore and by Sunday evening airport was functioning normally and our flight took off as per the schedule.

Yes, Karippur/ Kozhikode airport is a table top airport.

Just last year the Cochin airport was selected for the coveted 'Champion of the Earth' award, the highest environmental honour instituted by the United Nations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54iuCZq2Qws

The thread's title gave me cause for concern but it is reassuring to know that it is just a relocation of some solar panels. I was one of those who was almost impacted due to the recent airport closure but fortunately they were able to get things up and running and I didnt miss any flights.

Here is a story of the same for the benefit of other BHPians - https://www.thenewsminute.com/articl...-action-107340

This is off topic but worth sharing as well since it also shows the possible consequences of allegedly taking nature into your own hands and usurping natural canals for property development. My family and I had been to the Marriott Kochi (for those who dont know, it is next door to Lulu Mall in Cochin which has also faced allegations similar to the ones in the article above) recently for dinner at their restaurant on the ground floor. We were shocked to find several flies on the food spread out on the buffet counter!


So we avoided the buffet and sat far away from the buffet counter but there were flies at the nearby tables as well. We were astonished to say the least and complained to the managers. They confirmed that we are not the first customers to complain about this health and safety issue. I escalated the matter and the Director of Operations got in touch with me. Long story short, the issue of flies entering their restaurant happens during the monsoons despite their efforts to eliminate it. They confirmed that this stems from the fact that there is a canal along the Lulu property (which they have allegedly encroached upon) which is the source of the flies. If the allegations of the encroachment are true, let us just say that nature has a funny way of getting her payback when humans cross the line.